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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25611952">Uneventful Until You</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Arigonna49/pseuds/Arigonna49'>Arigonna49</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Awkward Flirting, Background Relationships, Ben Solo Needs A Hug, Blind Date, Developing Friendships, Eventual Romance, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Minor Finn/Rose Tico, Romance</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 07:48:36</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,174</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25611952</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Arigonna49/pseuds/Arigonna49</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Freelance artist Rey has been quite content with her life thus far, until a blind date forced by her meddling friends turns her quiet world upside down.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>9</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>18</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. In the Beginning It Started Slow</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This will be the first story I have actually posted online. Please let me know your thoughts! I'm hoping to update this weekly depending upon my work schedule. Enjoy!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Starting the day like normal is never easy. It’s always slow with bursts of energy in between. Rey sighs and pushes back from her computer with a little bit of annoyance. Rey knows that freelancing was never easy, especially for someone who started with no following online at all, and no money to promote herself. However, since last year, Rey’s online following had climbed considerably, and while she’s thankful, it’s been nothing if not time-consuming. Her creative flow has diminished significantly with her love of creating becoming more of a source of income than anything else to her. She knows she should be grateful for the income coming in, but she feels that something is missing now from her life: excitement because of art.</p><p>Her latest project, invitations for a college friend’s wedding in just over a month, proved that the people around her grow up and move onto the next stage of their lives. Her friend Rose, quirky but wonderful, was her first true friend since she had gone to college, and with Rose came Finn, her charming high school sweetheart. Rey always felt like she had gained not only friends, but semi-parents who looked out for her all throughout college. The invitations that Rey created for their wedding, were part of her gift to them for all they had done for her.</p><p>Out in the business world, Rose had become an IT specialist for a law firm, while Finn worked at a charity as a therapist for people in need with PTSD specifically. They finally decided it was time to settle down and start a family, through the pushing of Rose’s sister, Paige and her husband Poe. That couple was known for their meddling as Rey had come to find out over the years with blind dates showing up at the most inopportune times.  Paige has been dead-set on finding a date for Rey since Rose’s ring finger had been graced with a beautiful diamond ring.</p><p>Rey knew it was only a matter of time until Paige started lining up suitors for Rey, and she cringed at the thought of having to spend more awkward, uneventful time with someone she didn’t find the least bit intriguing. She had gotten through all 27 years of her life without a partner, she didn’t need one now. This was why she had also offered to be in charge of all invitation designs, decor designs, and the wedding website creation, to stay busy and out of Paige’s mind.</p><p>Grabbing the first stock card on the pile to the right of Rey’s computer, she looked down at the final version of her handiwork, yellowed background with golden vines that give way to Rose and Finn’s names, the date of the wedding and where it was going to be held. She was proud of such a simple, yet so elegant design that screamed both of her friends’ personalities. Rose had started crying the minute she saw the design and it had warmed Rey’s soul to see her work truly appreciated and loved.  </p><p>Hearing her phone ringing she picked it up without looking at the ID shining across the screen, “ Hello?”</p><p>A giggle sounds in response, “Hi there Rey sweetie, how are you doing? I was calling to see if you wanted to take a break from what you were doing to come help us with scanning the registry items at the home decor store down the street? I know I’m the Matron of Honor, but we all know you are a close second to Maid of Honor without the title.” That would be Paige and her long-winded responses.<br/>Sighing loudly into the phone Rey replies, “But you have done such a wonderful job! I would hate to muck anything up for you, oh wise and grand Paige.”</p><p>“Listen here you little monster,” Paige laughs quietly into the phone’s receiver, “I need help with the Bridezilla here. Yes Rose you totally are a Bridezilla and I can’t take it anymore. No, no you can’t talk to -.”</p><p>Rey hears a scuffle on the other end of the phone before Rose’s voice comes through, “She is totally lying! I am not a Bridezilla! I was just saying how I wish you could come help us out that’s all. I wasn’t getting cranky or mean, no matter what my evil sister has told you.”</p><p>“I mean she sounded pretty convincing to me,” Rey smiles into the phone, grabbing her coat off the rack and heads for her apartment door. She walks down the stairs to her apartment building and out into the busy city below.  </p><p>Rey can hear Paige grabbing the phone back, “Oh good you’re on your way. You know which store we’re at right?”</p><p>“Yes, Paige, I’ll be there shortly.”</p><p>“We’ll see you soon!” Paige laughed loudly, but right before she hung up Rey could hear Rose in the background asking if her sister had told Rey something.</p><p>This can’t be good. It’s definitely a trap. Rey thinks, only blocks from the store. There was no getting away now. </p><p> </p><p>A few moments later, Rey found herself standing in front of the store. Taking a deep soothing breath, she opened the door and went inside to find her irksome friends. Rey knew the moment she saw Paige and Rose that she was in trouble. Paige was smirking at her with a look Rey could only describe as pure smugness incarnate, “Over here, Rey! I was just telling Rose how we needed more than your extra set of hands. Poe offered to send some help as well.”</p><p>A man, well more like a tree, stepped up next to her, black hair hanging in his face and only adding to the illusion of how pale he was. He looked out of his element and avoided eye contact with everyone. Rey could not hear what else Paige was saying over the roaring of her heartbeat. This man, whoever he was, was someone out of her deepest fantasies, well, mostly out of the cheesy romance novels she has stored under her bed in a storage box. Taking a step forward, she thrust out her hand towards him, “Hi, I’m Rey! I’m sorry these two crazy friends of mine called you out here. They really don’t seem to understand the concept that scanning doesn’t need 3 people let alone 4. Paige thinks she’s the Chosen One that everyone has to obey and she isn’t even the bride!”</p><p>He lets out a slight laugh before catching himself, “I’m Ben, Finn and Poe’s coworker.”</p><p>“Ben, you’re more than their coworker! You’re their boss who just loves them to death,” Rose adds, smiling widely at the two of them, as Rey realizes she is still holding his hand.</p><p>Grabbing her hand back, she smiles at him, “I just there is no getting around this, let’s let the Ticos win, for now.” She winks and grabs two scanners from Paige, handing one to Ben who takes it slowly. Their hands brush and Rey can see his ears turn bright red. Interesting. </p><p>The rest of the day Rey and Ben spend scanning items that Rose and Paige point out, while joking with each other about how they should be paid to do this. The longer the two of them talked, the more Ben started to come out of his shell, even making eye contact with Rey on and off, slight blushes staining his cheeks. If Rey was blushing or not, she didn’t care, Ben was by far worth the blushes. She found out he worked with Finn and Poe at the nonprofit, but wouldn’t elaborate on the details of his position.  Rey knew not to push her luck with questions, through personal preferences, so she only moved on to other more generic topics.</p><p>“What would you be doing if you weren’t forced into this mess?”</p><p>He glanced at her, before scanning the item before him, mind in deep thought, “I would probably be out roped into something else, more than likely for my mom. She’s always keeping an eye on what I’m doing, or more like keeping an eye on whom I’m with. My mother has made it her mission to get me married by my 35th birthday, what good that will do, who the hell knows.”</p><p>Rey lets out a breath, “I know the feeling. Those two,” she flips her eyes to where Paige and Rose are in a deep discussion, “have made it their goal to get me in a relationship before the wedding. I keep telling them these things can’t be forced, but here we are, on an impromptu blind date.”</p><p>Ben coughs slightly, looking at the Ticos as he says, “For what it’s worth, I have enjoyed myself.”</p><p>It was Rey’s turn to blush, deep blooming red, “You’re a charmer aren’t you?”</p><p>“Only when I find the company quite compelling.”</p><p>“Well then, Ben, let’s keep a little optimism here. I find your company quite compelling as well.” Rey winks before walking off to the next section of the store they need to scan from. Behind her, a masculine chuckle cases after her. This was going to be fun.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Getting to Know You?</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Rey's day takes a very interesting direction, all due to a certain mysterious Ben Solo.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The past few weeks had been nothing but a whirlwind of emotions for Rey. The impromptu blind date resulted in a growing semi-friendship, semi-flirtation between Ben and herself. She had not, in her life so far, ever felt so in tune with another person before. To her it was different, but in a good sort of way.</p>
<p>“Rey?” Ben’s voice called her out of her thoughts. They had decided to meet up at a local coffee shop before he headed to work that morning.</p>
<p>“Sorry, what were you saying?” She looked into his eyes, thinking how easy it would be to get lost in them all day. She really needed to get a grip on her emotions it seemed today.</p>
<p>“I was wondering if you could come to the office with me today? We were talking about doing a fundraiser but wanted to hire someone to design certain elements for the event,” He rushes that all out in one breath, his ears turning red at the ends, while his eyes glance at the floor.</p>
<p>Rey giggles and rests her hand on top of his, “I’ll be happy to help any way that I can, however, I insist on volunteering my time. I won’t accept payments from a non-profit that does such wonderful things for people.”</p>
<p>Ben rolls his eyes at her, “I’d like to see you try telling the boss that. We should probably get going then,” he slowly gets up from the table, not letting go of her hand even as the blush on his face gets a shade darker. His signature smirk, cooling into something like a peaceful, secretive smile.</p>
<p>They make their way down the street a couple of blocks before stopping in front of the building that Rey knows holds the charity, Resistance Forces. Everything that makes up the non-profit, Rey has come to know only through the bits and pieces she gathers from Poe, Finn and their partners. From what she has gathered over the last couple of years, people flock from all over the country for a safe haven such as this. Finn has told Rey that the company doesn’t deal with just soldiers of war coming home, but they also specialize in people who have been abused over the years mentally and physically through a variety of circumstances.</p>
<p>While Rey knows all about the jobs that Poe and Finn do, Ben is still an enigma to her. All she can gather is that he is indeed Poe and Finn’s boss, but that he doesn’t like the authority. Rey thinks is may not be fully that he hates being in authority, but more along the lines of feeling not worthy of the position. Rey can understand that line of thinking, so she never pushes him to divulge more than he is ready to. Apparently, that is about to change.</p>
<p>The building itself is about 10 floors tall, with an all glass lobby, but warm inviting wood furniture to make it feel not so sterile. Ben’s hand squeezes hers as they head to the elevator situated to the back of the lobby. It opens and they step inside. Taking his hand from her, he pushes the button for the top floor, taking a deep, loud breath as he does so. Reaching the top, Rey watches his shoulders tense just as the doors open. A woman sits at a desk directly across from the elevators, “Mr. Solo, right on time. If you would follow me this way, she’s meeting you in the conference room down the hall today.”</p>
<p>Rey gives him a questioning look, to which he just shrugs his shoulders, “Zorii, this is Rey Niima, she may be working with us on our next event. Rey, this is the boss’s personal assistant, Zorii Bliss.”</p>
<p>“Miss Niima so nice to meet you. I hope to see you more in the future. Don’t let this one,” she eyes Ben with narrow eyes, “or any of the other Solos scare you off. Ok here we are, let me know if you will be needing anything else.”</p>
<p>Rey watches her leave before something finally clicks in her brain, “What did she mean Solos?”</p>
<p>Ben chuckles quietly, “Because my mother is the CEO of Resistance Forces.”</p>
<p>Rey’s stomach drops all the way back into the lobby, “Mother?”</p>
<p>“Leia Organa-Solo,” Ben makes eye contact with the suddenly very pale girl to his side.</p>
<p>Shit.</p>
<p>Before Rey can turn away the door in front of them opens and a woman pops her head out, “Are you going to continue whispering out here Benjamin? I would like to meet this mysterious Rey I have heard so much about, but not in the middle of the damn hallway.”</p>
<p>They all walk into the conference room, windows lining one side of the room. Leia takes a seat across from them, still smiling a shit-eating grin. She is smaller than Ben in height, but her presence seems to take up more of the room than anyone. Rey glances at Ben as she takes her seat next to him. He is glaring at his mother, while at this same time his expressions keep flickering between annoyance and embarrassment, “Mother, this is Rey, the digital artist I was talking to you about.”</p>
<p>Rey takes that as her cue to pipe up with, “It’s very nice to meet you, Mrs. Solo.”</p>
<p>Leia laughs at the two individuals in front of her, “Rey, dear, you can call me Leia. Benny here has told me much about what you do, and has shown me examples of you work. They are all quite beautiful. The invitations you made for Finn’s wedding are especially breath-taking.”</p>
<p>Rey blushes under the older woman’s words, “Thank you so much Leia. I always try to put my best work forward, always making sure elegance is not a lost art.”</p>
<p>“That is what I was hoping you would say, my dear. We here at Resistance Forces are holding a company charity event for a community center in the area that has been dedicated to helping orphaned children who have been targeted by a crime organization in the past. I’m sure you saw the news about Snoke and his minions a few years ago?” Rey could see Ben stiffen up next to her but brushed it off as maybe just her imagination.</p>
<p>“I remember the news talking about how he was using women and children to smuggle drugs in and out of the country.”</p>
<p>“Sadly that was all they were allowed to talk about. He was much worse than the news portrayed him. His presence has left a gaping hole in many of the lives he touched over the years. Some of those people are still dealing with the lasting effects of the damage he caused. We are hoping to raise some money to help these people start new lives, even if it is just baby steps. Anything we can do to help them, we want to wholeheartedly.</p>
<p>Ben cleared his throat, “This is where we were thinking you could come in and help us. I’ve seen how flexible you are with your designs and we want to do something elegant, but inviting for both kids and adults. A happy medium, if you will.”</p>
<p>“That sounds wonderful! I would love to help you as much as I can!”</p>
<p>Leia clapped her hands together and smiles broadly, “Wonderful! I knew you were our only hope! Rey, I want you to know whatever you normally charge, you can triple that. I’m hiring you to pull out all the stops on this. I will have Zorii send over a contract, and Ben will work with you on all the finer details. This is going to be an amazing opportunity to show that Resistance Forces doesn’t leave anyone behind!”</p>
<p>“Leia, about the contract,” Rey started, “I wanted to volunteer my –.”</p>
<p>“Nonsense! You will be paid for your time, young lady! End of the discussion! Benny I’m sure you can show is wonderful artist out?” Leia stood, heading for the door, “It was wonderful to meet you Rey. I expect to see you again soon.”</p>
<p>Leia’s presence gone from the room, Ben seemed to relax slighty, “I tried to warn you that she wouldn’t let you work for free.”</p>
<p>Rey stuck her tongue out at Ben, “When were you going to tell me that your boss was your mother?”</p>
<p>Ben just smiles back at her and shrugs again, “I didn’t want you freaking out. Most people do you know?”</p>
<p>“Because she Leia Freaking Solo you nincompoop!” She swats at his chest with her hand, which he grabs before she can pull away. The little electric shocks she feels from their entwined hands is enough to shut her up.</p>
<p>Ben pulls her down the hallway and back to the elevators, “Let me walk you home?”</p>
<p>She narrows her eyes at him, but concedes. Their walk back to her apartment is quiet, both of them very deep in thought. Finally, when they stand in front of her stairs he clears his throat, “I was wondering, and this is only a thought, but,” he stops, his weight shifting nervously from once foot to the other, “did you want to have dinner with me sometime this week?” His ears turn red, as well as his cheeks.</p>
<p>Smiling, a blush of her own on her cheeks, she leans up into him, “I would be delighted. Next time though, don’t wait so long. A girl can only handle so much flirtatious banter without anything else.”<br/>
Ben laughs coolly, staring into her bright and daring eyes, “Well Miss Niima, I will have to keep that in mind.</p>
<p>“Good,” she smiles and before she second guesses herself, she kisses his cheek, slightly longer than necessary and heads into her apartment building. If her smile burns into her skin, she doesn’t care. Benjamin Solo fancies her, nothing else matters at the moment.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Please feel to leave any questions, comments and concerns! As always, I'm trying to update once a week!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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